Balad Condemns Mansour Abbas for Supporting Civil Service Among Israeli Arabs

The Balad party issued a strong statement criticizing Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party and Knesset member, for his support of civil service for young Arabs in Israel. Balad accused Abbas of contradicting the positions of the representative institutions of the Arab public by promoting civil service under the guise of "social service." The party described this as part of a process of "Israelization," aiming to integrate Arab youth into a system of loyalty to the state. Balad warned against any attempt to impose civil service on the Arab community and emphasized that the rights of the Palestinian public in Israel should not be conditioned on any form of service or expression of loyalty, as these rights stem from their status as the original residents of the land. They stressed that volunteering is a national value that should be encouraged through independent initiatives rather than through Israeli state frameworks or Israelization programs. Balad called on Mansour Abbas to adhere to the decisions of the Higher Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel and to refrain from promoting initiatives that contradict its positions.